Mummies exhibit offers insight into history, science research

Exhibit open through Jan. 20 at Maryland Science Center

The Mummies of the World exhibit opens Saturday at the Maryland Science Center, and just like the title suggests, mummies that have been found in every corner of the planet are helping scientists learn more than ever about life on Earth.

From an ancient monkey to a child believed to be 6,400 years old, the exhibit at the Maryland Science Center is providing details of human and animal history from all over the world.

Heather Gill-Frerking, the science and education director at the science center, explained some of the exhibits to 11 News.

"The (monkey) mummy is stuffed with grass, but otherwise naturally preserved. He has this fabulous feathered headdress and skirt that we think might have been put on him at the time of his death. So, maybe he was a beloved pet or loved within the group," she said.

Mummies of the World is the largest collection of mummies ever assembled. There are more than 45 mummies and dozens of artifacts included that have all been painstakingly preserved. The artifacts come from 20 museums all over Europe.

"This is definitely not an 'ohhh!' exhibition. This is not creepy. This is a way of seeing inside other people's lives. They have a chance to share with us in their death what their life was like," Gill-Frerking said.

She said mummification wasn't just limited to Egypt.

"We certainly do have some mummies from Egypt. We have wrapped and unwrapped mummies from Egypt, but you'll also see some beautiful animal mummies from around the world. We have crypt mummies from Hungary and southern Germany. We even have beautiful mummies from South America with long hair and tattoos," Gill-Frerking said.

One of the pieces in the exhibit is a tattooed woman who was found naturally preserved in Chile. Her markings reveal who she may have been, but a scar from a long-ago breast surgery tells much more.

"So 700 years ago, they used hot metal to seal that wound. She survived that treatment and lived for a long period of time after it," Gill-Frerking explained.

She said scientists -- and those who visit the exhibit -- are learning a lot from the ancient beings.

"You really get to see these mummies as people. We're able to tell their story a little bit from their bodies, and so you really get to understand them as people -- who they were, how they lived, the fact that they're just like you and I," Gill-Frerking said. "We can tell how old they were when they died, whether they were healthy, sometimes what they were eating, and sometimes even their occupation. We have church records for some of these mummies."

Even now, a Hungarian family from the 18th century is helping scientists solve mysteries.

"We have church records that tell us the names and dates of birth and dates of death of these people. We've even been able to study the type of tuberculosis that they had using pathogen DNA. So, we can see how the tuberculosis has changed over time," Gill-Frerking said.

The science center said there will be a few exhibits that kids will be able to touch.

The exhibit is on the last stop of its tour and will stay open in Baltimore until Jan. 20.